Here’s a movie so feathery light I almost don’t want to bother reviewing it. It’s cut from the same cloth as a thousand romantic comedies before it — chick lit made celluloid (literally, as the film is based on a popular book series).
But it is successful enough at its intended purpose, to give you a few smiles and laughs for 90 minutes between dinner and the car ride home (or in our case, the car ride to a fancy hotel in Coral Gables).
It certainly lacks the emotional heft of The Devil Wears Prada and the smart wit of Bridget Jones’ Diary, to name two of the most successful entries in this genre. But it does have one thing going for it, and that’s Isla Fisher.
Fisher is on the left (I think)
Fisher made her first big splash in Wedding Crashers as the wild sister of Rachel McAdam’s character. Playing off Vince Vaughn, she had an electric comic physicality and nearly stole the film.
In Confessions her gift for physical comedy is again on fine display, especially in an all-too-brief dance floor scene. There’s something incredibly sexy about a beautiful woman who isn’t afraid to behave like a complete fool.
I won’t bother going into the cookie-cutter plot, or making connections to the current economic crisis. And I won’t recommend the film, except as a vehicle to admire the talents of Amy Adams. I mean Isla Fisher.
Excerpt from dance scene:
Meet Me In Montauk 
I haven’t seen this yet but I love the Shopaholic series. I was disappointed that they changed so much in the movie and that may be part of it’s failure to measure up to Bridget Jones, et al. In the books, Rebecca (Isla Fisher) is British and the whole thing is set in London. The follow up is called “Shopaholic Takes Manhattan” and chronicles her adventures in the Big Apple after moving from London with her boyfriend.
I want to see this film, but I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed… Glad you found it entertaining enough in general. 🙂
Interesting… I didn’t realize she was a Brit in the books. The boyfriend in the movie is British (or at least has a British accent) so maybe that was their nod to the book’s setting.
The one on the right isn’t Isla or Amy Adams.
As far as the movie goes, Maddie and I would argue that Hugh Dancy is another great reason to see the film. While we didn’t make the connection that he was our beloved Char from Ella Enchanted until after we were home and searching imdb, we were enchanted by him from the start. And how can you not mention Joan Cusack and John Goodman as her parents? It was worth changing her nationality to allow that brilliant piece of casting alone. I may have had my biggest laugh of the year, when Joan looks down wistfully at the self-help book she is clutching and wonders, “Is it too late to teach her financial responsibilty?” or some derivation of that question. LOVED them.
The film was delightful, and the dance scene was absolutely hilarious. 🙂
Yes, Dancy did a nice job in the boyfriend role (though it seemed a horribly inappropriate workplace relationship). And the rest of the supporting cast was strong, including Goodman and Cusack (and the guy who ran the front desk at the magazine).
I got that picture from a site about the similarities between Amy Adams and Isla Fisher… did they get it wrong?
“If Shopaholic is a hit, then it was Isla Fisher in the movie, and if it doesn’t work out, it was Amy Adams.” Apparently Fisher has a sense of humor about the similarity between them.
As for the pictures above, I have no idea what to make of them. But I do think the images are switched, with Amy Adams on the left and Isla on the right. For starters, I’ve never seen Amy without the light blue eyes, whereas I’ve seen photos of Isla with dark eyes. I don’t think the picture on the right is particularly representative of either one, though I guess it must be an actual photograph of someone 🙂
(that last comment was mine – sorry)
I’ve done some more looking and I’m convinced that it’s Adams on the left.
Also wanted to point out how absurd it was that Joan Cusack played Isla’s mom, but still she managed to pull it off beautifully.
As for the workplace romance… what workplace romance? They weren’t an “item” until after they were no longer working at the magazine. And the new magazine was more like a married couple, who also happed to be law partners, hanging out a sign and opening up a firm – that didn’t seem inappropriate to me at all.
Here’s another photo of the two of them, which I believe features Isla on the right.
The pictures are switched. They look alike, they’re not clones.
They first kissed at the party in Miami when they were both employed at the magazine (him as her boss). They were a couple when they appeared on the TV show and her lies were uncovered.
That last photo is much better. I thought it was kind of creepy how quickly he kissed her while he was still her boss. No discussion of how inappropriate it was or what anyone at the office would say. Even Bridget dealt with that.
By the way, interesting factoid, Amy Adams is from Castle Rock, CO – about 25 minutes south of Denver. We go to the outlet mall there frequently. Hard to believe someone so talented could come from a place that really doesn’t have much to offer apart from that mall. 🙂
Oh, and that is definitely Amy Adams on the left in the image above. The one on the right must be Isla Fisher, but I agree that it’s hard to say for sure that it’s her.
And, just a guess, but her abilities in the physical comedy realm could be one of the reasons she’s engaged to “Borat” and the mother of his child. 😉
lol at Alex’s comment – “they look alike; they’re not clones.” Indeed.
As for the workplace romance, I guess he could/should have addressed it with a passing remark to demonstrate that he was aware it could be an awkward situation, but they were clearly two consenting adults who were enjoying each other’s company and falling in love. I’m not sure what classifies them as officially a couple when they’re on the talk show. Think of them as Jim and Pam in Manhattan with lots of credit cards and wonderful clothes and no crazy boss, and you won’t have a problem with it.
And, Kerrie, I have no doubt that Mr. Cohen is attracted to Isla’s wit as well as her beauty, nor do I have a doubt that incredibly talented people can come from the most unexpected places (Tom Petty, anyone? Bill Clinton? 😉
Ha – just checked out your second photo link, and I think it’s (you’re?) switched again.
Clearly, clones or not, their similar features and coloring have caused confusion among many, as there are lots of sites that feature a “which one is Amy Adams?” or “Can you spot the real Isla Fisher?” items. I think it’s that they’re both relatively new on the scene and haven’t been in as many still photos as other actresses. Why don’t we mistake either of them for Jenna Fischer? Hell, her name even could cause more confusion. Perhaps because she’s in our living room each week so we know her extremely well. I’m less familiar with Isla, which is why it’s easier for me to spot the “real” Adams – I think of Enchanted, stick on a nun’s habit on the princess wannabe, then concentrate 🙂 Adams has such a distinct voice, too, that one would likely never confuse the two in film (though many on the web seem to have that problem).